Gavaskar urges fines for bowlers and bowling coach after Jadeja's no-ball issues in Sri Lanka Tests
Sunil Gavaskar has called for financial penalties for bowlers and their bowling coach after Ravindra Jadeja repeatedly overstepped during India's two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, Gavaskar wrote in his Mid-Day column on 2026-08-30. The former India captain said the issue of no-balls in the series demands urgent attention.
Jadeja bowled a string of no-balls across the two Tests and, the column noted, the senior left-arm spinner has bowled more than 85 no-balls since 2021. Debutant Saransh Jain also struggled with front-foot discipline, bowling several no-balls in the second innings of the Colombo Test. India's spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule had joked that a free hit after a no-ball might curb the problem. India drew the second Test in Colombo after Sonal Dinusha's unbeaten 133 helped Sri Lanka hold on for a draw on the fifth day; India had taken a first-innings lead of 213 but could not force a result and won the two-match series 1-0 after a convincing victory in the opening Test in Galle.
Gavaskar placed the responsibility on players to eliminate avoidable errors, writing: "The no-balls being bowled by the Indian bowlers came in for a fair bit of comment. This has to be looked at urgently because it can change the colour of the game. There are very few aspects of the game that are totally in the players' control, and a batter taking guard and a bowler not bowling a no-ball are two such aspects. Players, when they come for interviews, talk about doing things within their control. Today, with a tape measure available to mark the run-up, there should be no excuses for overstepping the bowling crease," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
Rejecting the idea of introducing free hits in red-ball cricket, Gavaskar wrote: "The India team spinning coach jokingly said that giving a free hit after a no-ball might help in curbing the offence. Please, let's not make scoring runs in Test cricket easier for batters with this penalty. As it is, with the restriction on bouncers to two in an over and the boundaries being brought in, run-making has become a little simpler," he added.
As an alternative to free hits, Gavaskar proposed escalating monetary fines, suggesting a structure in which penalties increase for repeat offences: "Instead, how about a fine which gets doubled for every further transgression, plus half the amount of the fine for the bowling coach, too. The fines collected can be used for the final team dinner before the boys disperse," wrote Gavaskar.
Gavaskar also suggested teams could adopt their own internal disciplinary fines for other on-field lapses and involve the squad in deciding penalties: "There could be other fines too, for example, not backing up for a throw or something else not done on the field, which the whole team can vote on whether to impose or not. This can also be a fun activity and bond the team even more," he added.
Gavaskar's recommendations were published in the wake of the Colombo draw, which followed India's opening-Test win in Galle that secured the two-match series 1-0.
